Exploring the Palace
by Ecilya
Summary: It is Luke's first day at the Imperial Palace, and his father permits him to explore. Luke is prepared for the Palace, but is the Palace prepared for Luke?  Sequel to Afraid of the Dark. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Exploring the Palace**

_by Ecilya_

**Summary: **It is Luke's first day at the Imperial Palace, and his father permits him to explore. Luke is prepared for the Palace, but is the Palace prepared for Luke?

**Characters: **Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader

**Genre: **Family

**Disclaimer: **Here we go again. Star Wars is owned by George Lucas, not me, and I did not and will not make any money by writing this fanfic. It is only for entertainment.

**Notes: **This is a sequel to _Afraid of the Dark_. If you haven't read _Afraid of the Dark_, you might want to, as this one follows directly after it.I'd appreciate reviewing! (but no flaming, please)

By the way, this story is completed.

Idea partially from some of SophieAnnWard's Luke/Vader fics.

Exploring the Palace

Chapter 1

It was morning, and a beam of sunlight was managing to find its way into Luke's room through the black curtains. A tuft of blonde hair appeared from underneath the bedsheets, followed by two bright blue eyes. Rolling himself out of bed, Luke looked around the dark, intimidating room and immediately pulled the curtains farther apart.

"That's better," he sighed to himself as sunlight flooded in. "Not as bright as Tatooine, but it'll do." Then he noticed tons of clothes loading a nearby chair. The service droid must have brought them up sometime this morning.

He suddenly recalled the events of the day before and dashed into the refresher to get ready as quickly as he could. He wanted to spend all day with his newly–found father.

Meanwhile, in a conference room down the hall, Lord Vader was drowning in paperwork. Datapads were spread over the entire table – a consequence of the Kiethin invasion – and it was his job to sort it out. Why the Emperor had decided to give him this task, Vader did not know.

_There are a few captains I can think of who could accomplish this chore quite easily. _Vader grumbled to himself. _As for me, I have more important things to attend to. _

A sudden ripple through the Force brought his mind back to a much more serious issue: his son. He had obviously just woken up.

Vader decided to comm. Luke to tell him where he was. "Luke. Luke."

"Father! Morning!"

"Good morning, son. If you need me, I will be in the conference room. It is three doors down, on the left. Do you think yourself capable of finding it?"

"'Course. See you in a few minutes!"

Vader closed the comm. link and wondered if giving his son directions was such a good idea. His worries seemed unfounded, however, when Luke came skidding into the conference room a little bit later.

"Hi, Father!"

The Dark Lord's gaze was immediately drawn to Luke's socks, the only white thing in the room. "Luke, where are your shoes?"

Luke followed his father's sight down to his feet and then looked back up at him. "You mean I've gotta wear shoes in my own home?" he asked incredulously.

"Son, this might be your new residence, but it is also the Imperial Palace. You must wear shoes at all times."

For a few moments, Vader's respirator was the only sound heard. Then a heavy sigh from Luke echoed through the room. "Okay, I'll put my shoes on." Before he left, however, his sight was drawn to a large picture on the wall of a hooded man. From what he could see under the hood, the man was all wrinkly with weird yellow eyes. "Father, who's that?"

Vader stared at the image of his master for a moment. "That is Emperor Palpatine."

Luke wrinkled his nose. "He looks real yucky!"

"Son!" Behind the mask, Vader's eyes widened. "Be careful what you say!" The last thing that needed to be added to his pile of work was freeing his son from jail for disloyalty. A few other feelings on the matter surfaced, but he denied himself such. "I will come with you to your room. There are some things I wish to show you."

Once in Luke's room, Vader showed him the workings of the computer console. "This button is to call a droid. They will bring you anything you need, take your laundry out, and bring you your meals."

"What's this one?" Luke seemed to be getting a little impatient.

"That one is the comm. link. And these two are for the Compunet and the Holovid. I believe that covers everything. Have you had something to eat yet?"

Luke shook his head.

"What would you like?"

Vader was surprised at how wide his son's eyes became. "You mean I can have anything I want to eat?"

"Within reason, but for the most part, yes."

"Wow!"

After receiving the order, Vader put it through the service droids. "Send that up to my sector, room ten. Have Ceethreepio and Artoo–Detoo deliver it."

Luke was sitting on his bed; Vader sat down in the nearest chair. "Who are they?"

"They are my personal droids. If you ever need help with anything, you can call them and they will assist you. I want you to get acquainted."

"'Kay." He pressed his eyebrows together in thought. "Father?"

"Yes?"

"What does "acquainted" mean?"

Vader had forgotten that his son didn't know what every word meant. "It means to get to know personally."

"Oh, so you want me to meet them."

Vader nodded in approval.

While they waited for the droids, Vader noticed his son giving him curious looks. "Is something wrong, Luke?"

"Well, not really. I mean, I was wondering – why do you wear that mask and make that funny breathing sound?"

The question stunned Vader. _How am I supposed to answer? Should Luke know yet? _"Well, son, I–" He was considering exactly how to describe this situation when a buzz sounded at the door. "I believe your breakfast is here."

The door opened a moment later. "Hello, Master Vader." Threepio walked in, followed by Artoo, who was carrying a tray with pincers on his dome. The little droid whistled a greeting.

"Threepio, this is my son, Luke. You will be taking commands from him also. And you as well, Artoo."

"Hi," Luke greeted the droids. Artoo chirped and wheeled the tray over to him. Luke accepted quickly. "Thanks, little guy."

Threepio turned to Luke. "Greetings! I am Ceethreepio, human–cyborg relations, and this is my counterpart Artoo–Detoo. Our services are at your disposal, Master Luke."

"Let me finish breakfast and then we can get started."

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This short story has three chapters, because when I tried to fit it together in one it didn't turn out too great. Besides, there is so much to this story that it needs a good lot of space to present itself.

Please review!

–Ecilya


	2. Chapter 2

Exploring the Palace

Chapter 2

Luke finished his breakfast speedily and handed the tray back to Threepio, who put it down the kitchen chute. The two droids then left; Threepio said they were needed in maintenance. Luke jumped to his feet and went to Vader. "Father, can you show me around now? I want to see everything!"

"Son, I am too busy today. I had to leave my paperwork to stay with you, and the Emperor will not be very pleased."

"Can I go by myself, then? Please? You can't just keep me locked up all day!"

Vader thought carefully over the suggestion. How much trouble could even a five year old Skywalker get into in the Imperial Palace? There were stormtroopers at every corner, and if he needed help he could always call on the comm… "I suppose it will be all right."

"Thanks, Father! I guess that's almost as good."

"But be very careful. Don't go into any rooms that are guarded, and do not leave the Palace. If you get lost, call me and I will be there momentarily. Take this comm. chip." Vader handed the chip to Luke, stood from his seat, and marched out of the room. Luke followed closely.

"Okay."

"And, uh, have a good time."

Luke's blue eyes brightened. "I will." He turned and dashed down the corridor, nearly colliding into a patrol of stormtroopers on the way.

Vader turned with a sigh to head back to the conference room and finish his paperwork. His senses told him he had made a big mistake.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes of walking down identical black hallways, wondering why this Emperor Palpatine person gave his father lots of work so he could never be with his son, Luke spotted another picture of him. This time, the Emperor was making a speech from a podium. The same acidic yellow eyes stared out from under the hood.<p>

"I still think he looks yucky." Luke whispered to himself. Then he saw the stormtrooper that had waved at him last night. The trooper was marching down a hall alone. Luke ran up behind him. "Hi again!"

The trooper looked down. "Hello. You're the kid who was in the hangar bay, right?"

"Uh–huh. What's your name?"

"Commander LJ–1076."

Luke gave the commander a quizzical look. "Don't you have a name? Like, a real one?"

The trooper tipped his helmet. "Well, when I was in training on Kamino, the boys in my barracks called me TJ. You can call me that, if you want."

"That's what I meant. What do you do, TJ?"

"I'm in charge of security in Lord Vader's sector of the Palace. Tell me kid, what's your name and why is Lord Vader so interested in you?"

Luke smiled at the guard. "My name is Luke, Luke Skywalker." Then he gave a confused shrug. "I think it's 'cause he's my father."

"_Lord Vader _is your _father_?"

"I guess. I've never heard anyone call him that, but I just got here last night."

"Well, what does he look like?"

Luke thought for a moment. "He wears a mask and a cape that's really swishy, and–"

TJ nodded to himself. "That's Lord Vader."

"So this morning he said I could explore the Palace, and that's what I'm doing. I'd better get going so I can see everything." He started down another hallway, turning around to wave goodbye to the trooper. "See you later, TJ!"

The commander waved back before he marched off. Luke listened to the white boots resounding into the distance and jogged down the black hallway.

He soon came upon a gate that blocked the entirety of the corridor. Instead of stormtroopers, however, men in red dresses that brushed the floor were standing guard. This confused Luke, and he decided to figure out the reason for this apparent dress code.

"Excuse me," he said to the nearest guard, as politely as he could. "Why are you all wearing dresses?"

The man stared him down with cold gray eyes. Luke visibly shrank back. "We are the royal guards of the Emperor. Leave immediately."

Luke puffed out his chest and tried to look important. "Very well, sir." He turned on his heel and marched around a corner. Once out of sight of the "royal guards", he collapsed against the wall. _I wonder where the hangar bay is. Maybe I could call Artoo and get him to show me around. _

He took the comm. chip from his pocket and opened a link to the little droid. "Artoo, Artoo, are you there?"

A whistle in greeting answered his question.

"Can you come up to…" Luke looked around in desperation for a sign of his location, and then spotted a level marker on a wall corner. "level five? I need a little help."

An affirmative chirp sounded and Artoo closed the link.

Several minutes later, Artoo rolled out of an elevator far down the hall and up to Luke, who was staring at his reflection in the shiny black floor. "Hi there, little guy. Nice to see you again."

Artoo whistled.

"Can you show me to the hangar bay? I want to see all the cool ships my dad said he owned."

He made a cheery sound and rolled off toward the elevator. Luke hurried after him and made his way into the elevator. Artoo set it for level two and a moment later they were standing in the hangar bay. Ships of every size, shape, and model filled the enormous bay.

"Artoo, check out that TX–47! And there's a Firebolt 300!" Luke ran from ship to ship, looking through the glass and into the cockpit. Artoo followed as fast as he could wheel and soon Luke had seen every ship twice – and even more than that.

He went up to the shuttle that had brought him to Coruscant the night before and, since the exit ramp was still fully extended, he went inside to investigate. Artoo went after him, beeping nervously. There was a door on his left. Luke pressed the door release and then found himself in the passengers' lounge.

"Hey, Artoo, what's this panel for?" He reached up to touch it.

The little droid gave an anxious whistle.

"Don't worry, Artoo!" Luke assured him. "I'm not going to launch the ship or anything." He pushed a purple button and a strange clicking sound came from the door. "What was that?"

Something had happened to the door. Luke went up to the door and tried to exit; it did not open.

"Artoo, it's locked!" He pressed another button – a red button, and a sharp crackle ran through the panel. A puff of smoke came from the top of the panel. "I don't think that's supposed to happen."

Another anxious whistle.

"Hey, do you think you could tell the computer to open the door?"

This time an uncertain chirp replied. Artoo wheeled to an access port and plugged himself in, and a moment later, the door opened. Luke let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Artoo. Come on, let's go look at some more ships."

* * *

><p>Morning was long gone, and Lord Vader was still stuck in the conference room with several more datapads to deal with. He was reaching for another pad when he sensed his son's happiness through the Force and felt his presence in the hangar bay. For some strange reason the Dark Lord couldn't explain, he wanted to be with Luke – to spend some time with his newly discovered son. <em>I do not have much work left, and I could finish it later. Perhaps, just for a little while… <em>

He chose to visit his son in the hangar bay and marched to the elevator. When he arrived, Luke was examining a speeder. "Do you like the ships, son?"

Luke looked up with a smile. "Yeah, Dad! Er, Father."

"I am pleased you are enjoying yourself. Do you need to eat?"

A loud rumble answered his question. "I _am_ pretty hungry. Is it lunchtime already?"

"Yes, son. And I'll take you out for lunch in the speeder of your choice."

His son's eyes widened larger than Vader thought possible. "For real?"

Vader nodded.

"Let's go in the Firebolt!"

"Very well. Come, son." Vader led the way to the Firebolt and stepped into the pilot's seat. Luke jumped into the passenger's.

"This is _so _cool," Luke's voice was bursting with delight. "You're the best father ever."

Something tugged at Vader's long–forgotten heart. He cleared his throat hesitantly. "…Thank you, son."

* * *

><p>Enjoying it so far? I sure hope so!<p>

Remember to R&R!

–Ecilya


	3. Chapter 3

Exploring the Palace

Chapter 3

The Firebolt navigated quickly through the crowded skylanes of Coruscant, Lord Vader piloting.

"I didn't know you could pilot, Father." Luke spoke up after a few minutes.

Vader glanced at his son. "Indeed? I sometimes command TIE fighters in battle."

"You fly TIE fighters?" Luke's blue eyes stared at his father. "Whoa!" He shouted as a bright orange speeder whizzed past and nearly cut them off. As soon as the alien driver noticed who was piloting the Firebolt, he dropped from the lane and disappeared.

"Where do you wish to eat?" Vader questioned.

Luke leaned back against the fine leather seat. "I dunno. There weren't many places to eat on Tatooine – we had to grow our own food."

"There are many fine restaurants near the Imperial Palace."

"Why don't you choose?"

A little shock made its way through Vader. It had been years since he had done what he wished, in another lifetime. He remembered a quaint little café on the three hundredth floor of a skyscraper near the Senate chambers where he and Padmé had dined together…

Vader resisted the urge to retreat into his past. _I am a Sith Lord. I will not dwell on a life long gone. _But seeing his young son in the seat beside him made him feel conflicted. "There is a fine restaurant directly below us: the _Coruscant Grill_. Would that be suitable?"

"Sure." Luke replied.

Vader dropped from the skylanes and toward the restaurant.

* * *

><p>Luke yawned and tried to catch up with his father, who had stopped farther ahead. It was only twenty–one hundred hours, but he was exhausted after his rather busy day. But something from all of that seemed a little peculiar to him. After they had entered the restaurant, everyone seemed to become suddenly terrified of his father. Why, he didn't know.<p>

"It is time for bed, son." Vader said once Luke caught up with him.

Another yawn confirmed his father's words. "Okay, Father." They reached his room and Vader turned on the switch using the Force. Luke looked around his room. "It looks different, somehow."

"I had Ceethreepio deliver some supplies to your room while you were out and give it a standard cleaning." Vader explained. He left out one detail that generated some sympathy in him. One specific item that he himself had ordered the droid to take to Luke's bedroom.

Luke cleaned himself up in the 'fresher and climbed into bed. Vader pulled the covers over him and rumbled, "Sleep well, son."

"Good night, Father. See you in the morning."

Vader tried not to give into his wanting to ruffle Luke's blonde hair and stood up to leave, flicking off the lights as he exited the room. Luke waited for the overpowering, frightening darkness, but instead the room was filled with a soft blue glow.

He leaned over the edge and saw something small radiating with light in a wall outlet.

It was a nightlight.


End file.
